Well left Thursday evening to head to Boston. Been having a fun time with GF sight seeing, whale watching, and enjoying a weekend away from EVERYTHING!!! One more stoop this am at aquarium, and on the road to Plymouth rock for a while, then back home.

Down to the steam with my shovel and mud boots. The ramps are late this year but very succulent, so a big fry pan and with bacon, yummy for breakfast. Leak and just a few potatoes soup yesterday, sadly the season is just about over already. With prediabetes, real food that normal people live on is a lost world to me unless I want that insulin c rap.... but I enjoy reading about those lucky people that are still alive.

God, the koi in my pond this spring are gigantic what are they finding to eat in that muddy pool? My theory of the week is that the barn sink drains into the pond and the owners horses get all those expensive (and unnecessary) supplements. Feed buckets get washed out and bingo - Shamu. Not so many bats and that white nose fungus worries me, strangely the farm is just about mosquito free and frogs and bats are my friends (FF will not be surprised). Sugar based diets are not allowed for the horses either and we have very few flies. I have lost a few customers that way but hey, tuff feces. Equus managed for 40MM years without it. Now that the spring grass is going crazy that is all they are allowed and water and only two hours of grass at that, they hoover that stuff, unbelievable, and they know that is all there is to eat until the growing calms down, they are serious. Horses heal is they forage and tummies are getting a little swollen as it is but each horse has over one acre of mowed grass each that you can watch growing as we spread the manure over winter. We really know how to screw with nature don't we. Glycophosphates are not used either and we have no superweeds.

Rob R. wrote:Good morning. A day late, but I will reheat the coffee and make the best of it. Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I tried to get a bunch of outside chores done. The lawn is almost back to golf-course status, and I treated the family with some delicious baby-back ribs off the smoker.

Lisa, my house is located right next to 1000+ acres of apple trees in full blossom...the air is "buzzing" with activity. The flowering trees seem to be exceptionally beautiful this year, and the bees are doing their best to check every blossom before the wind blows them away.

Man o man, Rob you ought to consider setting up a couple of Top Bar Hives. Apple Blossom Honey is a hot commodity at the farmer's market or just for gifts to family and friends. All I get around here is "wildflower honey." Those are weeds to everyone else. Lisa

LsFarm wrote:Good work Lisa!! Don't forget to 'write up' that leaking fire extinguisher in your bus, must have developed a leak overnight !! .

So the Bees get 'grumpy' when it's overcast?? that's interesting.. I get grumpy too if I haven't see the sun for a week or more..

Do you have a recommended site to learn or read about the basics of beekeeping?? I can google it, but thought you might have a recommendation.?

Greg L

I don't know if they get "grumpy" so much as they are all at home and you are bound to piss one or more of them off while you are messing around in the brood nest. It's just better not to go there unless the sun is shining. Check your PMs. I sent a list of references I put together for a class I was giving. Lisa

Wow - sounds like that former employee of Rick just got a job at the CLASSIC CAR RESTORER!! I'll bet 10:1 the improperly routed positive cable was bouncing off the header the whole trip. Probably sparked a few times before the copper melted, stuck to the pipe, and the battery promptly emptied all 900 amps into that wire. Must've been a nice smokey one. We call that, 'letting the smoke out of the wires'. All wires contain smoke, you know. The key is to keep the smoke IN the wire.